Muted
by Missbeehave
Summary: After a traumatic experience, Christa has to figure out how to help Clementine cope with the aftermath. But its easy to tell when something is broken, the hard part is actually fixing it. Rape, Self harm, ect.
1. Chapter 1

**_My first fic, mostly inspired by H8trzgonnah8te._**

 ** _After a traumatic experience, Christa has to figure out how to help Clementine cope with the aftermath. But its easy to tell when something is broken, the hard part is actually fixing it._**

 ** _Rape, Self harm, ect._**

* * *

Clementine was never more scared than she was right now. With her wrist bound tightly together and a cloth stuff into her mouth, the child was horrified.

Christa was beside the girl, tied up as well. The woman was bleeding from a shoulder wound, having been shot.

The two were surrounded by scavengers, three men who had attacked Christa. Clementine had tried her best to help the woman, which resulted in her being chased by one of the men who she had desperately tried to fight off.

After biting the man, she was tossed to the ground. Before she could stand up, th0e man started hitting her.

With the threat of being shot, the child had no choice but to stop fighting.

She was forced back to camp and found herself seated beside Christa, who she quickly noticed was tied up. Christa immediately asked if the young girl was okay.

Before Clementine had the chance to respond, the man who had chased her forced a dirty cloth into her mouth. Despite the girl's struggles, he managed to tie her wrist.

"Just let us go. You're not getting shit from us." Christa gritted out, trying to ignore the pain in her shoulder.

The three men smirked, their eyes cold.

"But we will." One of the men said.

"Kid bit the fuck out of me. I say we should punish her." The man who had chased the child grumbled.

"How do you purpose we do that, Winston?" Another man asked.

"I don't know… What do you say we tie some heavy rocks to her legs and toss her into the river?" Was Winston's response.

Clementine's eyes grew wide at that and she fought back a whimper.

"Stop… Leave her alone… She's already scared." Christa said.

"She should be…" Winston chuckled and walked towards the little girl. "Boo!"

Clementine didn't even flinch. The child closed her eyes, hoping the man would leave her alone.

"Not going to bite anyone no more, are you?" He taunted.

Christa sent the men dirty looks. "What do you want from us? We don't have anything for you to take."

"Is that so…?" Winston asked, not looking away from Clementine. "Look at me…"

Clementine didn't. However, a sharp slap to her cheek caused her to do as the man told.

"Such gorgeous eyes." He muttered.

Christa immediately noticed the look the man was giving the child. "Leave her alone!"

"Shut it, bitch." Winston snapped before he turned back to the child. "Look at me. Don't look away."

Clementine kept her gaze cold as she looked the man in the eyes. She wasn't going to let him see her fear.

"You think you're tough, don't you?" Winston asked the little girl.

"Get away from her!" Christa called.

Clementine felt the man rub his hand over her cheek. She tried to pull back, but he grabbed her face.

"What're you thinking, Winston?" One of the men asked.

"What do you guys say we put these ladies to use." Winston replied. "She's pretty, ain't she?

"She is cute…" One of the other men said.

"We're gonna have fun with this one." Winston said

Realizing instantly what the men wanted, Christa's eyes widened with terror. "Stop this! She's just a child."

"Not for long." Winston said. The man began to strip the child, Clementine tried to struggle with Christa yelled at him to stop. He pinned her struggling form beneath him to stop her from escaping.

Clementine's eyes with wide with fear and confusion, as she tried to scream.

"Go on, try to scream. You'll be doing a lot of screaming soon." Winston said.

Clementine gasped as he ripped her shirt. Now exposed, the child couldn't help but feel embarrassed.

"Stop this! She's just a defenseless little girl!" Christa exclaimed.

"Bitch bit the hell out of my thumb. Not so defenseless, if you ask me." Winston said.

Clementine felt the man's rough, hand fumbling with her jeans. He managed to unzip them and yank them down to her knees. The child started thrashing wildly. The man's response was to hit the child once again.

The child let out a muffled scream as the man started to yank her panties down, tearing them in the process.

Tears fell from the girl's eyes as the man forced her legs apart and roughly forced a finger into her.

The little girl let out a scream.

As the assault continued, Christa tried to free herself. "Please, just do me instead."

"Oh, you'll get your turn… But we'd like to break the virgin in first." One of the men said. He had his gun aimed at Christa, just in case the woman tried something.

Christa felt useless as she was forced to watch her young charge be violated before her eyes.

Clementine fought against the man as he forced his way into her vagina. He didn't stop, not when she screamed, or cried, or struggled. Not when Christa begged him to spar her and let them be. He just continued, until the child had nearly passed out from the agony she was in.

When she thought, it was over, she couldn't have been more wrong. The men switched places, using the child to satisfy their sick desires.

Clementine managed to get the gag loose and started screaming loudly. She wanted it to stop. She had never felt such pain before. She screamed and hollered and eventually began crying for her mommy.

Christa felt her heart break, knowing she couldn't do anything to help.

Eventually all three men finished with the child and decided to check if the noise had drawn any walkers.

By the time the men had returned Clementine had passed out from pain and exhaustion.

Christa glared at the men.

"What? Jealous?" One of the men asked with a smirk.

"Of course she is Ralph." A second man asked.

"Your little girl was tight as hell." Winston smirked.

"You're fucking disgusting." Christa spat.

"Don't be like that. Eventually she'll learn to enjoy it." The second man said.

"Victor's right. It's only a matter of time before the little slut's begging to be fucked." Winston said.

Christa shook her head, a look of disgust on her face. She knew people like this existed, but she never thought she'd be in a situation like this one.

"Might as well get some shut eye. We're moving out in the morning." Victor said. "See, your girl's got the right idea." He motioned to the unconscious child with a chuckle.

If Christa had the chance, she would've shot those men, right then and there.

"How about we start a fire?" Winston said, picking up Clementine's clothes. "We got some fuel."

"You can't do that! She needs those." Christa protested.

"Not anymore." Ralph said.

Christa glared at the men as the set flames to her girl's clothing. Anger was coursing through her veins. She needed to figure out a way to get away from those people.

* * *

Hours passed before morning came.

With their captors finally asleep, Christa decided now was their chance to escape.

The woman gently called little Clementine's name, trying to wake the child.

Clementine awoke in a panic. She looked around, spotting Christa beside her.

"It's okay…" Christa said. "We're getting out of here."

Clementine said nothing as the woman attempted to untie her.

The little girl could feel pain in her lower regions, she just wished the hurting would stop.

"The hell do you think you're doing?" A voice demanded.

Christa looked to see Winston aiming a gun at her.

"Fuck off." Christa spat.

"You should watch your language. I'm in the right mind to-"

Suddenly an arrow flew through the air, faster than the speed of detection, and slammed the man in the head.

The man's movement stopped.

Clementine trembled a bit, letting out a few whimpers.

"What the hell?" Ralph said.

However, another arrow was fired.

Victor made an attempt to flee. He was hit in the shoulder by an arrow, but he managed to run off.

Clementine trembled as a man wielding a machete approached her.

"Hey… It's alright now." He said in a gentle voice.

"Don't you fucking touch her!" Christa snapped.

"R-Relax… We're not going to hurt you." The man with the machete said. "We just want to help."

Christa shook her head. "Keep your filthy hands off my girl."

"He's right… We're just trying to help." The man with the crossbow made his way towards Christa slowly, he lowered his weapon and began untying her.

Meanwhile the other man had untied the shaking child. He picked the young girl up, the child appeared to be in a state of shock.

"Don't fucking touch my girl." Christa forced herself to her feet.

The machete wielding stranger didn't protest as Christa took the whimpering child from his grasp.

"It's alright now, Clem… It's okay." Christa said, rubbing the young girl's back.

"I uh, we have a cabin not far… You two are welcome to come back with us." The man with the machete said.

"That's not happening…" Christa replied.

"With all due respect, it might be in the best intentions of your girl." The man with the crossbow said. "We have a doctor…"

Christa tried to gather the remains of Clementine's clothes, which wasn't nothing but scraps now. The child clung to her as she tried to place her down. "How do I know I can trust you?"

"Well… My word is all I can give… You'll just have to see for yourself…" The man replied, offering her his jacket which he had taken off.

Christa was silent for a moment, hesitantly accepting the jacket. She used the piece of clothing to cover Clementine up, while keeping the child in her arms.

The men watched with concern.

"Alright… But I just want the doctor to look at her, then we're gone." Christa said.

"Fair enough…" The older man said.

"I'm Luke… This is Pete." The machete wielder said.

"I'm Christa. The girl is Clementine…"

"Nice to meet you both." Luke said. "For now, we're going to take you back to our group. Like Pete said, we have a doctor with us. And you both look like you could use one…"


	2. Chapter 2

**_Thank you everyone so much for the faves, follows, and reviews. Sorry for the slow update, hopefully next one will be quicker._**

* * *

Christa hated the idea of going to a cabin with two men she had just met, but she knew Clementine needed some medical help. If these men were telling the truth about having a doctor she needed to take a chance.

"So… How far is this cabin of yours?" Christa asked. She gave a wince as she adjusted her grip on Clementine's form, hoping it would lessen the pain she was feeling in her shoulder. She figured the child must have drifted off to sleep.

"Not too far." Luke said. He noticed the pained expression that Christa wore. "Want me to carry her?"

"No thanks…" Christa said quickly. "I got her."

"And who is at this cabin?" Christa asked.

"My nephew, a pregnant woman and her husband, and the doctor we mentioned, he has a daughter a bit older than your girl." Pete replied.

Christa hummed, "Okay… As soon as Clementine gets treated we're moving on."

"I don't know if that's a good idea…" Luke said with a frown. "Your girl's in no condition to be moving."

"She's going to be fine. This kid is tougher than you think." Christa said.

"Tough or not, she's just been through hell." Luke said.

"I'll take care of her. I'll carry her if I have to." Christa said.

Luke shook his head. He thought it was a bad idea. "Is it just you two? You don't have a group?"

"Does it matter?" Christa asked.

Luke and Pete exchanged looks.

"Our group will want to know. We don't need your people hunting us down, thinking we took you two captive or something." Luke said. "You're uh…. Not working for anyone right?"

"No… What kind of question is that?" Christa asked.

"Just…. Wondering…" Luke said.

"It's just us… Has been for a while." Christa sighed.

"That must be tough." Pete said. "I can't imagine raising a child out there."

"It's not easy, especially with all the fucked up people in the world." Christa said.

"I'm sure…" Pete said. "What happened to her was beyond fucked up…."

"Yeah…. Poor kid…" Luke said.

Christa didn't respond. She felt like shit over what had happened to Clementine already, she didn't need these two strangers throwing their two cents in about the situation.

The woman remained silent, following the two men.

After a while she finally caught sight of a large cabin. "Is that it?" She asked.

"Yeah." Luke said.

They continued toward the cabin a Pete let out a sigh.

"This isn't going to be pretty." Pete muttered.

Luke stopped walking abruptly, causing Christa to stop as well.

The woman raised a brow. "What's wrong?"

Neither man gave a response for a moment.

"We should probably let our people know you're here… You mind waiting outside?" Luke said.

Christa sent him a look, "Are you serious right now?"

"I… Is that problem?" Luke asked.

"You told me if I came here my girl would get medical attention, and now you want me to wait outside? How do I know you're not plotting something?" Christa asked.

"We're not. Believe me, we're not." Luke said.

"Well, something's up and I want to know what." Christa said.

"Nothing's up. I just want to let the group know you're here… They're pretty tensed right now. I just don't want to cause any drama." Luke said, scratching the back of his head in an almost nervous manner.

"That's inevitable…" Pete said. "There's going to be drama one way or another."

"I… I know…" Luke sighed.

"But Luke's right. It's better to let the group know you're here and give our doctor a heads up that we have a patient for him." Pete said.

"It will only take a minute." Luke quickly added.

Christa huffed, "Alright fine…"

Luke sighed, relieved that the woman didn't press any further. He turned and headed inside.

Pete headed inside as well.

Christa stood for a few moments. She looked down as she felt Clementine shift slightly in her arms. The child's eyes fluttered open and a look of confusion crossed the girl's face.

"Hey Clem… Everything's going to be okay." Christa said to her. "They have a doctor her who's going to fix you all up."

Clementine didn't offer a response.

Christa assumed the poor girl was too exhausted to speak. She couldn't blame the child, after everything she just went through, she was surprised the girl was even awake right now.

Christa didn't urge the girl to speak. Clementine needed to conserve what energy she had. The girl needed a good rest, Christa hoped the people inside the cabin would be reasonable enough to allow them to stay a night or two.

Several more moments passed before Pete came back outside.

"Alright, you can come on in." Pete said. "Just to warn you, they might get a little pushy about getting certain information."

"What kind of information?" Christa asked.

"General information." Pete said. "Anything you'd expect to be asked. You know how it is. People gotta be cautious."

"Right…" Christa said.

"And as we mentioned before, things are a bit tensed among the group, so don't take it personally if they start to go off." Pete told her.

"I won't take it personal, but I am going to defend myself and my girl if I feel it's necessary." Christa replied. "I'm not a doormat and neither is she."

"Of course I understand and respect that, but to make things easier for yourself and us, just try to be as honest as possible when you're asked a question." Pete said.

Christa gave a nod. "Okay."

"Come on." Pete motioned for her to follow him.

Christa did so and he led her into the cabin.

Upon entering Christa noticed a group of people gathered around the living room, in a clear argument.

As they noticed her they fell quiet.

"Guys, this is Christa, and the girl is Clementine…" Luke said.

Christa ignored the hostile looks she received from the pregnant woman and the man with the cap. "My girl needs help." She simply announced.

"We're well aware of that. Unfortunately, we're not a hospital, so there's nothing we can do for you." The pregnant woman responded coldly.

"Rebecca, that kid's in bad shape…" A heavy set man said with a frown. "We have all that supplies… We could-"

"Alvin, no. We can't waste OUR supplies on some strangers." Rebecca said.

"Right. She's not our problem." The man with the cap said. "We don't know if these people are with Carver! We can't help them."

"That's really selfish." Christa said. "This little girl was brutally raped. All I need is some help. I don't want her to die. She's all I have left."

"Raped?" Alvin muttered. "Damn… That's sick… What's wrong with people?"

Christa just shook her head.

Luke looked to another man, who had been silent the whole time. "Carlos?"

The man sighed before looking over the child in Christa's arms. "Lay her down, and I'll see what I can do for her." He ushered towards the couch.

Christa hesitantly placed the injured eleven year old on the sofa.

Clementine nervously clung to her guardian for a moment, but eventually loosened her grip as Christa assured her everything was okay.

"I'm going to ask everyone to give me some privacy. I need to examine her." Carlos said. "Rebecca, do you mind finding her something to wear?"

Rebecca rolled her eyes, but headed upstairs to find the child some clothes.

The others didn't protest as they left the room, giving them some privacy.

"Do you need me to do anything?" Christa asked.

"If you could roll her sleeves up on that jacket she's wearing, or remove it all together that would help." Carlos said. "I'm going to go get my medical supplies."

Christa nodded and made her way over to the girl. Carlos headed upstairs to retrieve the supplies he may need to treat the child.

Christa placed her hands on the jacket Clementine was wearing and the child immediately tensed, a look of fear in her eyes.

"It's alright. He's going to help you." Christa said, pushing the sleeves up.

The child let out a few whimpers. Christa shushed her.

It wasn't long before Carlos returned downstairs.

"Now what?" Christa asked.

"First and foremost, I'm going to check her for bites. If all is clear, I'll look at her wounds, clean them, and give her an antibiotic to prevent infection. Depending on her bad her injuries are, some stitching may be needed." Carlos slipped on a pair of gloves and walked over to the couch.

"Well, I can tell you she's not bitten." Christa said.

"As much as I'd like to take your word for it, I'd like to be certain." Carlos said. He pulled the young child into sitting position.

Clementine to pull away the second he touched her.

"Clem, please… He's trying to help you." Christa said.

The girl tried to keep calm. She hoped Christa would protect her if this man tried anything.

Carlos placed a hand to Clementine's forehead, no fever. He checked her for any bites, finding none.

"I told you she wasn't bitten." Christa grumbled.

"What about you?" Rebecca asked, walking down the stairs holding an outfit in her hands.

"What?" Christa raised a brow.

"Any bites, any scratches?" Rebecca asked. "What happened to your shoulder?"

"Those assholes that attacked us happened. Neither of us is bitten." Christa said.

"I'd hope not..." Rebecca scoffed. She placed the clothing on the couch then walked into the kitchen.

"Okay…" Carlos said before looking to Clementine. "Alright… What I'm going to do next may feel a bit uncomfortable for you…"

Clementine sent him a confused look.

"I… I need to check you, down there…" Carlos said.

The child's eyes widened, she quickly shook her head.

"Clementine, he has to… He needs to… see the severity of the damage…" Christa said.

Clementine whimpered, trying to force out words of protest, but none came.

"I'm right here, okay. I won't let him hurt you." Christa said. "I won't let anyone else hurt you…"

The girl took a deep breath and nodded.

"Okay, good…" Carlos mumbled. "I need you to lay down, and scoot your rear to the edge of the couch, and open your legs up for me…"

Clementine slowly did as the doctor told.

"It's okay…" Carlos said. "I'll be as gentle as possible."

Clementine gave another nod, squeezing her eyes shut.

Carlos lifted the jacket and started his examination.

Clementine tried to shove any negative thoughts out of her mind. Her nerves were on edge and she felt her heart pounding as the man examined her.

Carlos was silent for an agonizingly long time.

Carlos was taken aback by the amount of fresh blood in her vaginal area. Her hymen was torn as well as her perinea muscle.

He let out a sigh as he straightened up. He would have to stitch her.

"How bad is it?" Christa asked.

"Well..." Carlos spoke slowly. "Unfortunately, I'll have to suture her up…"

"That bad…?" Christa frowned.

"Yeah…" Carlos said "Physically she has some scarring. I've also noticed a lot of bruises on her thighs, and some on her wrists."

"Those people were rough with her…." Christa replied.

"Are they dead?" Carlos asked.

"Yeah. Luke and Pete handled them…" Christa said.

"Good…" Carlos said. "They deserve worse than death…"

"I couldn't agree more…" Christa said.

Carlos turned back to Clementine, "I'm going to stitch you up, okay?"

The little girl looked terrified.

"Is that going to hurt her?" Christa asked.

"I'm going to give her an anesthetic…" Carlos said to Christa.

That didn't help ease Clementine's fearfulness.

"You won't feel a thing…" Carlos assured her. "I'm going to put you to sleep…"

The next few moments consisted of little Clementine panicking while Christa tried to calm the child down.

Meanwhile Carlos readied the medication to give to the child. "Just keep her still…"

With a syringe in hand, and Christa now holding the little girl in place, Carlos gave her the general anesthetic.

Clementine winced in pain.

"That shouldn't take long to kick in…." Carlos said. He placed the needle in a plastic bag. He retrieved a needle and thread and began to thread it.

They waited for the medicine to take effect and before long the young girl was asleep.

"Alright, let's get this over with…" Carlos said. He was disturbed about what happened to the child. Seeing her injuries had been hard, treating them would be just as bad.

He used some hydrogen peroxide to clean the wound before he started to stitch it.

Christa waited anxiously until the doctor finished.

Carlos sighed, "I'll going to go wash my hands. You can put her in those clothes and then have Luke or someone take her upstairs to rest. I'll be back to treat your wounds in a while."

"Okay…" Christa said.

Carlos grabbed his medical supplies and headed upstairs.

Christa glanced toward Clementine who was unconscious on the couch. She picked up the clothing that Rebecca had brought down for the child. She remembered Luke and Pete mentioning Carlos had a daughter, they must have been some of her spare clothes.

Christa removed the jacket from the young girl and eventually managed to get the unconscious child dressed into the new clothes, with a slight struggle.

Once she was done the woman headed into the kitchen to see the group members gathered inside, talking.

"Did you even bother asking where they came from?" Rebecca inquired. "For all we know, they could be working for Carver."

"I'm not working for anyone." Christa spoke up. "I'm just a person trying to survive, and keep girl safe…"

"You expect us to believe that?" The man with the cap said. "Where's the rest of your group."

"It's only us two. Been that way for months." Christa said.

"I call bullshit." The man said. "No way you two are on your own."

"Nick, stop." Luke said, rubbing his temples and looking a bit annoyed. "Please..."

"You're really buying her lies, man?" Nick demanded.

"All I know, is a little girl was just sexually abused. I'll be damned if we send an injured child and her guardian, who's also in bad condition out there…" Luke said.

"Speaking of the girl, how is she?" Pete said.

"The doctor took care of her wounds, he told me to ask one of you to take her upstairs to rest…" Christa said.

"I got her… She can take my bed…" Luke said.

"I appreciate it." Christa said.

Luke nodded and headed into the other room to take Clementine upstairs.

Meanwhile Carlos returned downstairs to treat Christa's injuries.

Carlos had her take a seat, and he began treating her wounds.

"Is my girl going to be okay?" Christa asked, as the doctor threaded a needle and thread to stitch her shoulder wound.

"I'd say yes… She should make a recovery. Mental damage is the main concern… Is she always that quiet?" Carlos said.

"She's quiet, but she usually responds when spoken to…"Christa replied.

"I see… Poor child must be traumatized." Carlos mumbled.

"I'm sure she is. No doubt in my mind…" Christa said.

"Well, I'll give her a pain-killer and an antibiotic. I'll continue to tend her wounds until she makes a full recovery, which means you'll have to stay here until she's healed." Carlos said.

"Okay then…" She hadn't planned on staying, but it seemed like it was in Clementine's best interest.

"If you're going to be staying with us for a while, we have some questions we need to ask you. We need to be sure you won't be a danger to our group, our families…" Carlos said.

"That's fine. In fact, I have a few questions I want to ask myself." Christa said.

"Well… We'll do our best to answer them… No guarantee though…." Carlos said. He finished treating her wounds and placed his supplies away. "I'm going to call a house meeting… We'll meet in the kitchen."

"Sounds good." Christa said. She really wanted to know who this "Carver" person was.


	3. Chapter 3

"First thing's first, tell us who you're working for." Rebecca immediately demanded.

"I'm not working for anyone." Christa said.

"Bullshit." Nick said. "You expect us to believe it's just you and a kid on your own?"

"I don't expect you to do anything. I don't care what you believe. Nor do I understand why you people are so adamant about the idea of me working with someone." Christa said.

"Do you think we're stupid or something? It's obvious that you're with someone… It must be Carver…" Nick said.

"Now calm down, both of you. Not everyone out there is with Carver." Pete said. "You can't just go around accusing people of working for him."

"And you can't just trust every stranger you meet." Rebecca hissed.

"I think all of you know I have a good bullshit detector. Which is why I'm undefeatable in poker." Pete said.

"You don't always win-" Luke stopped himself, realizing he was getting off topic. He turned to Christa. "I'm sorry about them. Everyone's kind of on edge here…"

"I can tell." Christa replied. "Look, I said it once and I'll say it again, I'm not working with anybody."

"I believe you." Luke said.

"And I appreciate that." Christa said.

"Okay… So, you're not with a group… Why is that?" Carlos asked.

"I'm not with a group because I'm not a people person…" Christa said. "Groups fall apart… And I don't want to take the risk."

"Yet you take the risk of travelling alone, with a child?" Carlos said. "That's dangerous…"

"I can handle myself, and so can Clem." Christa stated.

"Clearly." Rebecca scoffed.

Christa shot her a look. "I don't know what your problem is, but I really don't like your attitude."

"Excuse me?" Rebecca said, surprised by that.

"You heard me." Christa said. "I don't know what your attitude is about, but I'm going to get sick of it real fast."

Rebecca opened her mouth to say something, but Pete beat her to it.

"Christa," Pete said.

"Yeah?" Christa asked.

"We're not trying to make you feel uncomfortable. We just want to be sure we can trust you. Our group's been through a lot." Pete said in a calm tone.

"You're not trying to trust me. We've all been through a lot." Christa said.

"I know…" Pete agreed. "We understand that, but it's important for us to ask questions. To get to know you."

"You guys don't have to believe a word I say. Clem and I won't be here long." Christa said.

"Actually… It would be in the child's best interest that you stay and let her recover." Carlos said.

"And how long do you think that's going to take?" Christa asked.

"It could be weeks… or longer…" Carlos said. "The child's been pretty badly injured."

Christa shook her head at that. "That's not an option…"

"Why not? It's safer here than it is out there." Carlos said.

"Unless you really are working with someone…" Rebecca huffed.

"I'm not working with anybody." Christa said with a sigh. "Who is this Carver guy anyway?"

"W-What?" Rebecca stammered, taken aback by the question.

"Who is Carver? I'm going to assume he's following you?" Christa inquired.

"Me?!" Rebecca said. "You mean "us"."

"Bec, calm down." Alvin said.

Christa raised a brow and said, "He's after your group, right?"

"What's it to you?" Nick grumbled.

"If I'm going to stay with you guys for a while, I think I should know." Christa said.

"It's not like we want you here." Rebecca stated.

"I'm just trying to do right by my girl. Regardless of if we stay here or not, if this Carver guy is dangerous I want to know about him. I don't want to run into any more trouble, especially not after what happened to Clem…" Christa said.

The group members stayed silent for a while and Christa figured they weren't going to answer, however Pete spoke up.

"Fair enough…" Pete said. "We did dig some information from you, it's only right for us to give you some info back."

"Uncle Pete, you can't just tell her our business." Nick said.

"It's her business now too, boy. She's not going back out there when her girl is injured the way she is." Pete told him.

"That kid's not our problem." Nick argued.

"He's right. We have enough to deal with as it is." Rebecca said.

"You guys need to calm down and stop being so heartless. The kid was raped, she needs a lot of time to recover. This cabin is the safest place for her right now. You're all only going to scare her." Luke said.

"Who cares?" Nick said.

"Your mother would be disappointed to hear you say that." Pete said.

"Don't you fucking talk about her!" Nick snapped.

"She's my sister, boy! And I'm only speaking the truth. Stop trying to be someone you're not. She raised you better than that." Pete retorted.

Nick fell silent at that, not knowing what else to say.

Pete sighed and looked to Christa. "As far as who Carver is…. He's a dangerous man."

"How dangerous?" Christa questioned.

"As dangerous as they come." Luke said. "We were at his camp for a while. He gave us no choice but to leave."

"What did he do?" Christa asked.

"He's just out of his damn mind." Alvin grumbled. "I dare him to show up here I'll handle him.

"So, he's after you guys because you left?" Christa asked.

"Pretty much." Luke said. "And his idea of consequences for breaking his rules… it's brutal."

"He's a very violent man. He doesn't stand for anything… And I'm sure he's searching for us right now." Carlos said.

"Then what are you going to do if he shows up?" Christa asked.

"If he's shows up, we'll have no choice but to leave. It's too risky to do anything else." Luke said.

"You're really going to let him run you out your cabin?" Christa asked.

"We'll have no other choice. If what you say is true, and you really don't know Bill, then you don't know what he's capable of." Rebecca said.

"And he won't be alone…" Carlos added. "He's the leader of a community not far from here and he's very smart. We were lucky to escape. If he finds us... well... it won't be good."

"Damn…" Christa muttered. "So… Basically if I stay with you guys, I'm putting myself and Clementine at risk."

"You're at risk either way. It's better to stay with a group than to be alone. It's hard enough raising a kid, let alone out there." Luke said.

"I can handle it and so can Clem. It's just been the two of us for a while." Christa said.

"Maybe it's time to change that." Luke said.

"…We'll see." Christa said.

Luke nodded in response. "Alright…"

"Any more questions?" Christa asked, she wanted to go make sure Clementine was okay.

"Not right now…" Carlos said.

"Okay then, meeting adjourned." Pete said before turning to Christa. "How about you go check on your girl?"

"Alright. I will." Christa agreed.

"She probably won't wake up for a while, but once she does I'll check up on her again." Carlos said. "For now, I'll take you to her."

"Thank you. I appreciate it." Christa said.

With that the two left the room. Carlos led Christa upstairs while some of the others remained in the kitchen to talk.

* * *

Carlos opened the door to the bedroom Clementine was resting in.

"Thank you." Christa said again.

Carlos nodded in response before walking off to another room to check on his daughter.

Christa entered the bedroom and walked over to Clementine.

The child was still in her drug induced sleep. Christa sat on the edge of the bed beside the young girl.

It was hard to look at the girl without feeling guilty.

Christa sighed. She didn't know how Clementine was going to handle what happened to her. Surely the child was emotionally damage.

Christa herself was trying to forget the images that were stuck on replay in her head, of what she witnessed.

"I'm so sorry, Clem…" Christa said gently.

Lee would be disappointed. No… He would be devastated. Christa couldn't help, but feel like a failure, even if there hadn't been much she could do to prevent what happened.

She wanted to scream. She wanted to cry. She wanted to bring those sick fucks who tortured her girl back to life and kill them herself. But she couldn't. She couldn't do any of that.

All she could do was stay strong for little Clementine and hope the girl would be alright.

Clementine was tough, she had been through a lot in her young life. Christa was sure the girl would pull through just fine… She had to.

Christa only wished Clementine would wake up soon…


	4. Chapter 4

Hours had passed before Clementine finally did wake up. The child looked around in confusion, wondering where she was.

When she noticed Christa lying beside her, the child calmed down a bit. Her guardian was still asleep. Clementine wondered how long she had been out of it.

Feeling her stomach growl, the girl pushed herself off the bed. As she got to her feet she winced in pain. She brought a hand to her aching crotch. She stumbled her way out of the room. Every step she took was pure agony, but the girl ignored the pain.

When she came to the staircase, she had to practically crawl down.

Somehow, she managed to make her way down the stairs. She paused, close to the bottom of the steps as she noticed Luke, who was sitting on the couch turn to her with a look of concern.

"Hey, Clem. What are you doing up?"

The girl trembled a bit, not responding.

"I don't think you should be walking around…" Luke said. "Did you need something?"

The child still didn't respond. It was as if something was preventing her from speaking.

"Not in the mood to speak?" Luke asked with a raised brow.

Still nothing.

Luke let out a sigh. "Alright, kiddo. I hate to break it to you, but I'm expert at talking to girls who don't want to talk to me."

"Well, you've had a lot of practice. That's for sure." Pete's voice grabbed both of their attention.

"Come on, Pete… That's not helping." Luke huffed.

Pete ignored him and offered Clementine a small smile. "Hey there, Clementine. How are you feeling?"

Clementine wanted to answer him. She really did, but she just couldn't. She dropped her head with a frown.

"Looks like she doesn't want to talk to you either." Luke said.

"Maybe she just needs time." Pete said. He slowly walked over to the young girl. "You should take it easy. You don't want to pull your stitches." He offered her his hand to help her the down the final few stairs.

Clementine was hesitant, but she placed her hand in his and allowed him to help her down.

"There you go." Pete said as they reached the bottom. "So how about we get you something to eat? You hungry?"

Clementine gave a small nod.

"Alright, I'll start some breakfast. In the meantime, you can chat with Luke." Pete said.

Clementine shifted her gaze back to Luke.

Luke offered her a kind smile. "It's alright, Clem. No one's going to hurt you."

Pete help the girl to the couch, allowing her to take a seat. He then headed into the kitchen to make some breakfast.

"So…. Are you always this quiet?" Luke asked.

Clementine frowned.

"Not that it's a bad thing. I'm just… wondering." Luke added quickly.

When the girl still said nothing, Luke decided to change the subject. He figured he wasn't going to be able to evoke a response from the child anytime soon. He looked to a deck of cards on the table and motioned to them. "You play?"

Clementine shrugged. It had been a while since she last played anything. Back when Omid was still alive she would play cards with him once and a while, but after he had passed away… Everything was different.

"Wanna play?" Luke asked.

Clementine nodded. She figured it was better than doing nothing.

"Know how to play "slapjack?" Luke asked.

The girl shook a negative this time.

"It's pretty simple." Luke said.

After explaining the rules to the young girl, the two began playing.

Clementine was actually having fun for the first time in so long.

"Alright, oatmeal's ready." Pete called stepping into the room. He noticed the two caught in the middle of the card game. "Who's winning?"

"Clem's kicking my ass. Look's little we've got some competition in here." Luke said.

"How? I'll have to see how she plays in poker." Pete said. "You ever play poker, Clementine?"

Clementine shook her head.

"I'll teach you. Maybe after breakfast, that sound good?" Pete told her.

Clementine smiled and nodded.

"Alright. Why don't you go eat before the food gets cold?" Pete said.

Luke help the child up.

When Clementine winced in pain, Luke offered to carry her. The young girl's eyes grew wide, fearful at his offer.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you." Luke reached out and touch the child's shoulder.

She flinched and let out a piercing scream, which Luke and Pete were both startled by.

* * *

Christa woke with a groan. Sitting up, she brought her hand to her throbbing shoulder.

She glanced to her side and she was surprised to find Clementine was no longer in the bed.

Panic set in and that panic only intensified when she heard the recognizable sound of her girl's scream.

Christa wasted no time rushing from the room and towards the direction of the sound.

She got downstairs to she Clementine in a clear panic. "What did you do to her?!" Christa demanded to Luke and Pete.

"Me?" Luke asked. "We… We didn't do anything. I swear."

"Then why the hell is she screaming bloody murder?" Christa inquired.

Christa wasn't the only one with that question. Woken by the noise, the other group members made their way downstairs.

"What's going on?" Rebecca asked.

"Everything's fine. Clem just had a startle, is all." Pete said.

"It's too early for this shit. What the hell is her problem?" Nick asked.

"She's scared. She was raped yesterday, in case you forgot." Christa said.

"That's not our problem. You shouldn't have let her get raped then." Nick said.

"I didn't let her get raped! There was nothing I could do about it! I tried to help her!" Christa spat.

"Then you didn't try hard enough!" Nick grumbled.

Christa shot him a glare. She had to stop herself from hitting him in that moment.

"Regardless of what happen, she doesn't have the right to go around waking the entire cabin up." Rebecca huffed.

"Dad? Is everything okay?" Sarah called from the hallway, sounding concerned.

"Everything's fine, Sarah. You can come on downstairs…" Carlos said.

"Look, she didn't mean it. Like I said, she was just startled." Pete said, trying to calm the situation.

"Why doesn't she apologize then?" Rebecca asked.

"Would you just leave her alone? She's been through a lot, she doesn't need to deal with your shit on top of that." Christa hissed.

"Then why don't you leave already? It'd be better for all of us." Rebecca said.

Sarah hesitantly made her way down the stairs. She didn't like when the grown-ups argued. She didn't even know what they were fighting about so early in the morning.

"Believe me, as soon as Clem's healed up, we're gone." Christa said. "I wouldn't want to stay any longer than we have to."

"Why not go now? The sooner the better." Rebecca said.

"Bec, come on… The girl's not in good shape, she didn't mean it." Alvin said.

"Then she should apologize for waking us up!" Rebecca exclaimed.

"Back off!" Christa snapped.

"Give her a break, Rebecca. The kid doesn't talk." Luke said.

"What?" Rebecca asked.

"I think she's mute." Luke said.

Christa raised a brow. Clementine was by no means mute.

"After hearing her scream like that, I doubt it." Rebecca scoffed.

"Look, let's just calm down." Pete said. "I made breakfast."

Although tension was still in the air the group members headed into the kitchen to eat breakfast.

* * *

Breakfast was a quiet affair. It wasn't a peaceful quiet like it should be, it was more of an uncomfortable silence.

Clementine played with her food, feeling anxious.

"Not hungry?" Alvin asked the child, noticing she hadn't touched her meal.

The girl gave a small shrug.

"Clem, I want you to eat something." Christa said.

"I'll have to check your injuries after breakfast as well." Carlos told the girl.

Clementine sighed. She stopped playing with her food and started to eat.

"Mute my ass…" Rebecca suddenly muttered.

"Don't start, alright. She's just a kid." Luke said.

"Whatever." Rebecca said as she continued to eat her meal. "I don't understand why you're letting her food you."

"Fool me? What do you mean?" Luke asked.

"She's playing you. She wants your pity." Rebecca replied. "Just because she's a kid, doesn't mean she's innocent. We should make them leave now."

"I'm so sick of this shit." Christa said. "You want us to leave, fine. We're gone today."

"Good." Rebecca simply replied.

"I… I can't allow you to take the child out there." Carlos piped up.

"And why the hell not?!" Christa demanded making both Clementine and Sarah flinch.

"She hasn't even had the chance to recover. She needs to stay here." Carlos said.

Clementine sent Christa a look of fear. She didn't want to be kept here by some strangers. If Christa left, she wanted to go too.

"I'm not going to stay here and let her get treated like crap. I'm not a doormat and neither is she."

"Christa, please. Think about what you're doing." Luke said. "Don't take her back out there."

Christa looked over to Clementine who had her ears covered and was whimpering. "It's alright, Clem…" Christa called to the child. "Just… Just finish your food."

"Let's talk about this later. The children don't need to hear this." Pete said.

"Alright fine…" Rebecca said.

The group members fell back into their silence. Clementine shifted in her seat, feeling nervous. She wanted nothing more than to get out of the tense atmosphere.

* * *

Once breakfast came to an end, the children were told to play in the living room. Christa had to carry Clementine to the couch.

The adults proceeded to have yet another meeting while the two girls played.

Sarah pulled out a couple board games and allowed Clementine to pick one. The child absent-mindedly played the game with the older girl. She was curious on what the adults were talking about. Luke and Pete were nice, Alvin, she didn't know what to make of him, but the others made it obvious that they didn't trust her or Christa. Clementine worried that they were overstaying their welcome.

"So... I'm Sarah. What's your name?" The teen asked.

Clementine didn't respond.

"Umm… Can you talk? The grown-ups say you can't." Sarah asked.

Clementine shrugged in response. She was able to talk before, but now it seemed like her voice wouldn't work.

"I got an idea." Sarah said.

Clementine waited for her to continue.

"Stay here. I'll be back!" The teen rushed upstairs, leaving Clementine a bit confused.

It wasn't long however before the girl returned with a notepad and a pen.

"Tada. You can use this to talk." Sarah offered it to the girl.

Clementine sent her a look of appreciation.

"So what's your name?" Sarah asked again.

Clementine took a moment to scribble down her answer. ' _Clementine'_

"Clementine? That's a nice name." Sarah said.

' _Thanks'_

"We're friends. We can be best friends. I haven't met another girl my age in forever." Sarah was starting to ramble. "It's hard to be the only girl, you know. Rebecca's nice, but she's old. And if her baby's a girl, it will be forever until she's old enough to be my friend and then I'll be super old. What do you say? Are we friends?"

Clementine thought for a moment then nodded. It would be nice to have a friend, at least while she was there.

"Really?"

Clementine nodded once more.

"Great! Friends." Sarah beamed, holding out her pinky to Clementine.

Clementine locked her own pinky with the older girl's.

"A pinky swear is forever." Sarah said.

Clementine only hoped forever would actually last.


End file.
